OB Rag

By Paul Krugman / New York Times / May 17, 2012

Suddenly, it has become easy to see how the euro — that grand, flawed experiment in monetary union without political union — could come apart at the seams. We’re not talking about a distant prospect, either. Things could fall apart with stunning speed, in a matter of months, not years. And the costs — both economic and, arguably even more important, political — could be huge.

This doesn’t have to happen; the euro (or at least most of it) could still be saved. But this will require that European leaders, especially in Germany and at the European Central Bank, start acting very differently from the way they’ve acted these past few years. They need to stop moralizing and deal with reality; they need to stop temporizing and, for once, get ahead of the curve.

I wish I could say that I was optimistic.

What a fun place to eat with friends, the Raglan Public House – at the corner of Bacon and Niagara. The ambiance is inviting; the beers are numerous – I counted over 81 on the menu; the food is wonderful and the waitstaff – Josie and Alex – were delightful. Josie is really from New Zealand, and her charming accent only added to the atmosphere of the place. Alex, for the women in the audience, was nice to look at; has a mean handshake – like he was really glad we were there – and charming as well. (Yes, I know it is a sexist comment, but let’s face it – I enjoyed watching him.)

Do I need to write more? For those of you that criticized me on my last Ocean Beach venture, I hope that this redeems my taste buds and you no longer come after me with a forked tongue or steak knife.

A friend and I went for lunch at what was formerly “The Vine.” I remember the same restaurant when it was an Italian Restaurant and, like “The Vine” was sorry to see them both close down. I hope that this eclectic place remains in Ocean Beach for a long time.

By John P Anderson / WalkingMissEva

One item our family has given up is our use of paper towels. It took some sweet-talking, but after I got Amelia’s ok it has been smooth sailing and got rid of one of the items that we regularly threw out in the garbage.

In our efforts to be more environmentally friendly we’ve tried to take a look at the items that go into our recycling and trash cans and determine how we can eliminate or reduce those items. Paper towels were an early and somewhat obvious choice. For the following reasons we decided to get rid of paper towels:

• Single-use – after using a paper towel there is no opportunity to reuse, and usually no opportunity to recycle either.

These next couple of days will see San Diego streets swell up with protests of different sorts, as nurses, janitors and anti-nuke activists and their supporters stage demonstrations across the City.

Thursday, May 17th: San Diego Janitors Continue Hunger Fast and Hold 12-Hour Vigil at Civic Center Plaza

San Diego area janitors will hold a 12-hour vigil with community and religious leaders at Civic Center Plaza in downtown San Diego, joining hunger fast participants fighting for health care for themselves and their families. Throughout the day, community volunteers will be visiting hunger fasters at their base camp at the Church of the Brethren in San Diego, where volunteers are working hard making preparations for Friday’s march and rally at La Jolla’s UTC.

Friday, May 18th – Rally for a ROBIN HOOD TAX! at NBC Building

Also on Friday, May 18th – Anti-Nuke Activists to Present Demand Letter to SEMPRA Chair

Wednesday, May 23rd – Rally at SEMPRA

by Emilie Astolat

People who think they’ve never taken their loved-one for granted, no matter how many years have passed, should think again. I’m sorry, but there are no ifs, ands or buts about it. And if you’re one of those people, I suggest you ask said loved-one for their opinion. You just might be surprised.

As I think about my own relationship, I realize I have a lot to be grateful about. We share a happy home, a child, security, a sense of humor, family (like it lump it), tribulations, joys, decisions, love and the list goes on and on. There isn’t anyone on this planet I’d rather come home to and I know he feels the same.

But as the years tick by, sometimes I think we both get into the habit of the everyday routine: kid, school, work, dinner, sleep, repeat. It can go like that for weeks before one of us says, “Hey, how ‘bout a date night?”

Whoever invented the idea of a date night for long-term couples should be given a Nobel Peace Prize. I really mean that. It’s a simple concept, but it does so much to rejuvenate the romance in a relationship.

By Barbara Ehrenreich / TomDispatch / May 17, 2012

Individually the poor are not too tempting to thieves, for obvious reasons. Mug a banker and you might score a wallet containing a month’s rent. Mug a janitor and you will be lucky to get away with bus fare to flee the crime scene. But as Business Week helpfully pointed out in 2007, the poor in aggregate provide a juicy target for anyone depraved enough to make a business of stealing from them.

The trick is to rob them in ways that are systematic, impersonal, and almost impossible to trace to individual perpetrators. Employers, for example, can simply program their computers to shave a few dollars off each paycheck, or they can require workers to show up 30 minutes or more before the time clock starts ticking.

With more and more doubts about San Onofre’s safety and future being raised on a nearly daily basis, San Diego and Southern California activists are converging on utility giant Sempra as a focal point for their protests here locally. And there are apply pressure that is mounting across California.

For instance, activists will be presenting a “Demand Letter” to Sempra Energy Chair Donald Felsinger on Friday, May 18th. And a rally is being held at Sempra headquarters in downtown San Diego on Wednesday, May 23rd – part of a state-wide coordinated day of actions at utilities. Actions will also be held in Irvine, San Francisco, Oakland, and Fresno – all to demand a nuclear-free California.

Suit Against NDAA by Writers Including Chris Hedges Wins Temporarily Victory

By Bob Van Voris and Patricia Hurtado / Bloomberg/ May 17, 2012

Opponents of a U.S. law they claim may subject them to indefinite military detention for activities including news reporting and political activism persuaded a federal judge to temporarily block the measure.

U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest in Manhattan yesterday [May 16] ruled in favor of a group of writers and activists who sued President Barack Obama, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and the Defense Department, claiming a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act, signed into law Dec. 31, puts them in fear that they could be arrested and held by U.S. armed forces.

On Friday, May 18th – the Ocean Beach Historical Society presents their annual show, OB Exposed! It will be held at the Masonic Center – at 1711 Sunset Cliffs Blvd, from 6 to 8:30 pm.

Here are some reasons that the OB Historical Society says are great reasons to attend:

• We have some incredible photo entries in this years OB Exposed!

• We also have several additions to the show: A series of 8″x 10″ photos from 1911-1912 of the restored historic home on the corner of Del Mar Ave. and Cable (Hundred year anniversary of the home being built). The photos show the six week period the house was built in.

• We will be showing the film of the recent “Respect OB ” Event.

• The Green Store has lent us their picture boards of 23 years of photos.

Ch 8 News / May 16, 2012

The City Council’s Rules Committee Wednesday directed the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would require banks with which the city of San Diego does business to submit annual data on loans, foreclosures and other issues.

The proposal by council President Tony Young calls for banks to provide information on their home and small business lending, modifications of distressed loans, foreclosure information, community investment, employment diversity and number of jobs.

Young also wants two-year community reinvestment plans to be submitted for residential and small business lending in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

By Bill of Rights Defense Committee

Last New Year’s Eve, while most Americans were out celebrating, President Obama signed into law the most potentially oppressive national security legislation considered in our country since the onset of the war on terror more than 10 years ago. The National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (NDAA) includes military detention provisions that, along with the 2001 Authorization to Use Military Force (AUMF), could enable any future president to suspend the right to trial and detain Americans indefinitely in military custody without trial.

If you thought the PATRIOT Act was bad, the NDAA is even worse. It could be used to criminalize any political party or ideology, round up ethnic minorities, enable recurring torture in military custody, or suspend the right to trial for people the government wants to detain (for whatever reason) without having to establish proof of any crime.

Having just attended a pagan ritualistic ceremony uniting two very special people, I am now more inspired to find a soulmate of my own that is willing to bind our hands together for life. What I witnessed was very inspiring.

Those of you that have been following my saga of “on-line” dating are probably not aware that even though I stopped my “subscriptions”, there was no refund and so I have been getting “winks” for what seems to be months, on a regular basis.

And…I have enlarged my groupings. My name is now listed as wanting to find a “companion” on the following websites: “SeniorPeopleMeet”; “BB (the Big and Beautiful Network)”; “Match.com”; “EHarmony”; “Speed Dating”; “Zoosk” and “Chemistry.com”.

After all, I don’t want to leave this great experiment to small chances. Of course, I am finding that I am not the only person that has signed up with more than one on-line service. No… so are the many of the men whose names keep popping up on my computer screen. That would not be a problem if they used the same name, for, believe it or not, I have an “a-z” spreadsheet (s) of 11 pages. I kid you not! Not all of the slots on all of the pages are filled in, but I have attempted to make contact with 344 (!) men since I began keeping the spread sheets.